Editing Aida (section)

==Performance history==

===Cairo premiere and initial success in Italy===
[[File:Leopoldo Metlicovitz - Aida- Act IV Scene 2.jpg|thumb|Radamès (Giuseppe Fancelli) and Aida ([[Teresa Stolz]]) in act 4, scene 2 of the 1872 [[La Scala]] European première (drawing by [[Leopoldo Metlicovitz]])]]
Verdi originally chose to write a brief orchestral prelude instead of a full overture for the opera. He then composed an overture of the "[[potpourri (music)|potpourri]]" variety to replace the original prelude. However, in the end he decided not to have the overture performed because of its—his own words—"pretentious silliness".{{sfn|Toscanini|2002|p=366}} This overture, never used today, was given a rare broadcast performance by [[Arturo Toscanini]] and the [[NBC Symphony Orchestra]] on 30 March 1940, but was never commercially issued.{{sfn|Frank|2002|p=55}}

''Aida'' met with great acclaim when it finally opened in Cairo on 24 December 1871. The costumes and accessories for the première were designed by [[Auguste Mariette]], who also oversaw the design and construction of the sets, which were made in Paris by the [[Paris Opera|Opéra]]'s scene painters Auguste-Alfred Rubé and [[Philippe Chaperon]] (acts 1 and 4) and [[Édouard Desplechin]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Lavastre]] (acts 2 and 3), and shipped to Cairo.<ref>Auguste Mariette to Paul Draneht (General Manager of the Cairo Opera House), Paris, 28 September 1871. (Translated and annotated), {{harvnb|Busch|1978|pp=224–225}}.</ref> Although Verdi did not attend the premiere in Cairo, he was most dissatisfied with the fact that the audience consisted of invited dignitaries, politicians and critics, but no members of the general public.<ref>The Cairo Opera House could only hold 850 spectators {{harv|Pitt|Hassan|1992|p=682}}.</ref> He therefore considered the Italian (and European) première, held at [[La Scala]], [[Milan]] on 8 February 1872, and a performance in which he was heavily involved at every stage, to be its ''real'' première.

Verdi had also written the role of Aida for the voice of [[Teresa Stolz]], who sang it for the first time at the Milan première. Verdi had asked her fiancé, [[Angelo Mariani (conductor)|Angelo Mariani]], to conduct the Cairo première, but he declined, so [[Giovanni Bottesini]] filled the gap. The Milan [[#Amneris|Amneris]], [[Maria Waldmann]], was his favourite in the role and she repeated it a number of times at his request.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.questia-online-library.com/read/98196653?title=Notes |title=Verdi's ''Falstaff'' in Letters and Contemporary Reviews |access-date=2009-02-25 |archive-date=2020-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322202127/http://questia-online-library.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Aida'' was received with great enthusiasm at its Milan première. The opera was soon mounted at major opera houses throughout Italy, including the [[Teatro Regio (Parma)|Teatro Regio di Parma]] (20 April 1872), the [[Teatro di San Carlo]] (30 March 1873), [[La Fenice]] (11 June 1873), the [[Teatro Regio (Turin)|Teatro Regio di Torino]] (26 December 1874), the [[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]] (30 September 1877, with [[Giuseppina Pasqua]] as Amneris and Franco Novara as the King), and the [[Teatro dell'Opera di Roma|Teatro Costanzi]] (8 October 1881, with [[Theresia Singer]] as Aida and [[Giulia Novelli]] as Amneris) among others.<ref name="amadeus">{{Almanacco|match=Aida|label=Aida performance history}}</ref>

===Other 19th-century performances===
[[File:Verdi conducting Aida in Paris 1880 - Gallica - Restoration.jpg|thumb|Verdi conducting the 1880 [[Paris Opera]] premiere]]
Details of important national and other premières of ''Aida'' follow:
* Argentina: 4 October 1873, at the original [[Teatro Colón]], Buenos Aires, located at Rivadavia and Reconquista, then replaced by the [[headquarters of the Bank of the Argentine Nation]].
* United States: 26 November 1873, [[Academy of Music (New York City)|Academy of Music]] in New York City, with Ostava Torriani in the title role, [[Annie Louise Cary]] as Amneris, [[Italo Campanini]] as Radamès, [[Victor Maurel]] as Amonasro, and Evasio Scolara as the King<ref name="McCants">{{cite book|last1=McCants|first1=Clyde|title=Verdi's Aida: A Record of the Life of the Opera On and Off the Stage|date=2005|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786423286}}</ref>
* Germany: 20 April 1874, [[Berlin State Opera]], with [[Mathilde Mallinger]] as Aida, [[Albert Niemann (tenor)|Albert Niemann]] as Radamès, and [[Franz Betz]] as Amonasro{{sfn|Busch|1978|p={{page needed|date=February 2020}}}}
* Austria: 29 April 1874, [[Vienna State Opera]], with [[Amalie Materna]] as Amneris
* Hungary: 10 April 1875, [[Hungarian State Opera House]], Budapest<ref name="amadeus" />
* France: 22 April 1876, [[Comédie-Italienne|Théâtre-Lyrique Italien]], [[Salle Ventadour]], Paris, with almost the same cast as the Milan premiere,<ref name="amadeus" /> but with [[Édouard de Reszke]] making his debut as the King.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=628}} This performance was conducted by Verdi.
* United Kingdom: 22 June 1876, [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, with [[Adelina Patti]] as Aida, [[Ernesto Nicolini]] as Radamès, and [[Francesco Graziani (baritone)|Francesco Graziani]] as Amonasro{{sfn|Kimbell|2001|p=983}}
* Australia: 6 September 1877, Royal Theatre, Melbourne{{sfn|Irvin|1985|p={{page needed|date=October 2018}}}}
* Munich: 1877, [[Bavarian State Opera]], with [[Josephine Schefsky]] as Amneris<ref name="theatre">{{Cite web |url=http://www.theaterspielen.ch/Besetzungsliste%20Ur76.pdf |title=Biography of Josephine Schefsky at theaterspielen.ch (in German) |access-date=2009-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227081833/http://www.theaterspielen.ch/Besetzungsliste%20Ur76.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Stockholm: 16 February 1880, [[Royal Swedish Opera]] in Swedish, with [[Selma Ek]] in the title role<ref name="oper">[http://hosting.triboni.com/triboni/exec?method=com.operissimo.artist.webDisplay&id=ffcyoieagxaaaaabbhrc&xsl=webDisplay&searchStr=Selma Ek Biography at operissimo.com (in German)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111143450/http://hosting.triboni.com/triboni/exec?method=com.operissimo.artist.webDisplay&id=ffcyoieagxaaaaabbhrc&xsl=webDisplay&searchStr=Selma |date=2012-01-11 }}</ref>{{sfn|Loewenberg|1978|loc=col. 1019}}
* [[Palais Garnier]], Paris: 22 March 1880, sung in French, with [[Gabrielle Krauss]] as Aida, [[Rosine Bloch]] as Amnéris, Henri Sellier as Radamès, [[Victor Maurel]] as Amonasro, Georges-François Menu as the King, and Auguste Boudouresque as Ramphis.<ref>{{harvnb|Wolff|1962|p=27}}; {{harvnb|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=652–653}}</ref>
* [[Metropolitan Opera]], New York: 12 November 1886, conducted by [[Anton Seidl]], with Therese Herbert-Förster (the wife of [[Victor Herbert]]) in the title role, Carl Zobel as Radamès, [[Marianne Brandt (contralto)|Marianne Brandt]] as Amneris, [[Adolf Robinson]] as Amonasro, [[Emil Fischer (bass)|Emil Fischer]] as Ramfis, and {{ill|Georg Sieglitz|de}} as the King.<ref name="amadeus" />
* Rio de Janeiro: 30 June 1886, [[Theatro D. Pedro II|'''Theatro D'''. '''Pedro II''']]. During rehearsals, the performers of the Italian touring opera company had disagreements with the local conductor [[Leopoldo Miguez]], described as "inept". After the failure of two replacement conductors, [[Arturo Toscanini]], at the time a 19-year-old cellist who was assistant chorus master, was persuaded to conduct the performance. He conducted the entire opera from memory with great success—the start of a great career.{{sfn|Tarozzi|1977|p=36}}<ref>[https://www.pittsburghopera.org/files/file/Study%20Guide%20for%20Aida%202013.pdf "Interesting bits about ''Aida''"] by Jill Leahy, via [[Pittsburgh Opera]]</ref>

===20th century and beyond===
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 13773 AIDA AT MASADA 2011.jpg|thumb|A scene from the [[Israeli Opera]] production performed at [[Masada]] in 2011<ref>Collins, Liat (4 June 2011). [http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/My-Word-Conquering-Masada "Conquering Masada"]. ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''. Retrieved 19 May 2016.</ref>]]

A complete concert version of the opera was given in New York City in 1949. Conducted by Toscanini with [[Herva Nelli]] as Aida and [[Richard Tucker (tenor)|Richard Tucker]] as Radamès, it was televised on the [[NBC]] television network. Due to the length of the opera, it was divided into two telecasts, preserved on [[kinescope]]s, and later released on video by [[RCA]] and Testament. The audio portion of the broadcast, including some remakes in June 1954, was released on LP and CD by RCA Victor. Other notable performances from this period include a 1955 performance conducted by Tullio Serafin with [[Maria Callas]] as Aida and Richard Tucker as Radamès and a 1959 performance conducted by [[Herbert von Karajan]] with [[Renata Tebaldi]] as Aida and [[Carlo Bergonzi (tenor)|Carlo Bergonzi]] as Radamès.<ref>{{OCLC|807743126}}; {{OCLC|65964014}}</ref>

[[La Scala]] mounted a lavish new production of ''Aida'' designed by [[Franco Zeffirelli]] for the opening night of its 2006/2007 season. The production starred [[Violeta Urmana]] in the title role and [[Roberto Alagna]] as Radamès. Alagna subsequently made the headlines when he was booed for his rendition of "Celeste Aida" during the second performance, walked off the stage, and was dismissed from the remainder of the run. The production continued to cause controversy in 2014 when Zeffirelli protested at La Scala's rental of the production to the [[Astana Opera|Astana Opera House]] in Kazakhstan without his permission. According to Zeffirelli, the move had doomed his production to an "infamous and brutal" fate.<ref>[[Rupert Christiansen|Christiansen, Rupert]] (9 December 2006). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1536440/Zeffirellis-triumphant-Aida-at-La-Scala.html "Zeffirelli's triumphant ''Aida'' at La Scala"]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. Retrieved 19 May 2016.</ref><ref>[[BBC News]] (11 December 2006). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6169177.stm "Booed tenor quits La Scala's ''Aida''"]. Retrieved 19 May 2016.</ref><ref>Day, Michael (9 October 2014). [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/news/franco-zeffirelli-takes-on-la-scala-legendary-opera-director-in-battle-with-theatre-over-sale-of-one-9826810.html "Franco Zeffirelli takes on La Scala: Legendary opera director in battle with theatre over sale of one of his 'greatest' productions to Kazakhstan"]. ''[[The Independent]]''. Retrieved 19 May 2016.</ref>
''Aida'' continues to be a staple of the standard operatic repertoire.<ref>[[Operabase]]. [http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en#opera Performances during the 2008/09 to 2012/13 seasons]. Retrieved 19 May 2016.</ref> It is frequently performed in the [[Verona Arena]], and is a staple of its renowned [[Arena di Verona Festival|opera festival]].<ref name="Verona">{{cite web|url=http://www.veronaeconomia.it/2018/08/23/leggi-notizia/argomenti/economia-veronese/articolo/aida-alla-recita-14-per-lopera-festival-2018-giovedi-23-agosto-2018-ore-2045.html|title=Aida alla recita 14 per l'opera Festival 2018|publisher=Economic Veronese|language=it|date=23 August 2018|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref>